Need rec for earthy, woody black tea!

Hello all! =D I had a tea at a tearoom once, and it was the most gorgeous thing I had ever tasted--very slightly smokey, earthy, and woody. I was wondering if anyone can rec a high-quality tea with these characteristics? thanks!

Hi josybird
...or maybe a China Keemun...there are pretty many of them out there...I have a few that I would describe as you have.
But pu-erh is definately the more earthy of the two. Was the earthiness very prevalent?

I am just venturing into the complcated area of pu-erh, so I will let others direct you. Good ones are very enjoyable and usually offer up 5-8 infusions...in my brief experience. FYI, check out the IM section, very often live discussion on pu-erh ensues. The 2 people that I find most helpful on the subject are there a lot, marshal and phyll. I ask them ?'s all the time on the sujsct and they are always happy to offer advice.

joseybird wrote:Hello all! =D I had a tea at a tearoom once, and it was the most gorgeous thing I had ever tasted--very slightly smokey, earthy, and woody. I was wondering if anyone can rec a high-quality tea with these characteristics? thanks!

It does sound like a cooked pu-erh, but as chip said, keemun (Qimen red) can also be a possibility. There are several sources for reliable cooked pu-erh out there, and Adagio is a good place to start. Hope you'll like the sampler, and let us know your thoughts on it in the "Pu-Erh" section!

After trying a few different things, I realized that the tea I drank was a bit more woody than smokey or earthy...I have a sample of adagio's pu-erh that I have yet to brew, but it smells earthier than the tea I drank. Hmm....

joseybird wrote:After trying a few different things, I realized that the tea I drank was a bit more woody than smokey or earthy...I have a sample of adagio's pu-erh that I have yet to brew, but it smells earthier than the tea I drank. Hmm....

While it's interesting to try everything out to find that one tea you liked so much, maybe it's just easier to just call or go to the tea room that you visited and ask?

Yeah, that is why I asked about the earthiness, because pu-erh is quite earthy.

Then China Keemun might be a good tea to try. The only problem is they are so diverse that you are not likely to find exactly what you are looking for...there are so many grades, etc. I remember a Keemun I had from one vendor 6 years ago..it was amazing...it was like the perfect black for me. In fact that year was the perfect year for keemuns for me as I ordered every single Keemun they had and loved them all.

Well, I have never been able to duplicate that tea from that vendor or any other for that matter and believe me I tried extremely hard to locate that elusive flavor and aroma...mmm.

So, I simply moved on after years of trying. I hope you fair better than I did.